Portrait Example

(Click on image to enlarge)

I'm sure that some of you who are thinking about participating in the project from a distance want to see what one looks like. Not just a portrait, but one about a survivor. Well, here it is! With permission from the volunteer, I have made a traditional portrait in pastel of her. This one is 16x20 on colored paper. Canson Mi Tientes in Twilight to be precise. I typically start with a light construction line drawing in sepia pencil to get the proportions, then switch to Nupastel and a little Rembrandt stick. She sat for me a little over two hours. This person happened to love purple and lots of color, so I used purple in the shadow and orange, reds, greens, blues, and more in the image. The only black and brown I used were in her hair and eyes. Color is one way she likes to express her outgoing personality that was severely stifled by her abuser. I made a photo copy of this portrait and gave it to her as remembrance of how far she has come in her healing. If you are contemplating about having your portrait done, this is only one example. Each portrait is different, some more than others. The process of getting know these wonderful people as their painting or drawing develops is a real delight.